WEBVTT 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:13.519 With its factory tuning and data center DNA, an Intel 730 series SSD is an 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:19.320 amazing choice for gamers and performance enthusiasts. Welcome to my 00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:21.800 review of the Audio Technica ATTH 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:27.039 AG1s. So, let's start with a physical overview. Man, they absolutely nailed 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:32.719 the looks of these things in my opinion. matte black with gold accents that look 00:00:29.840 --> 00:00:37.040 sharp and hint at the high performance nature of the product without turning 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:41.120 into the over-the-top gamer bling. Very, very nice. The ear cups themselves have 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:46.079 a soft fabric on the inside to cushion your earlobes against the angled drivers 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:50.480 inside the ear cups and feature a padded pleather outer cushion that is very soft 00:00:48.800 --> 00:00:54.399 against the skin while not necessarily being the most realistic feeling faux 00:00:52.559 --> 00:00:59.840 leather that I've ever encountered. The 3D wing headband design boasts 00:00:56.800 --> 00:01:02.879 convenient, no adjustments necessary 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:04.360 compatibility with any head. And like 00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:09.920 anything designed to be one sizefits-all, doesn't fit perfectly on 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:14.960 everyone. Personally, I found it made me acutely aware of the two spots on my 00:01:13.119 --> 00:01:19.600 head where the weight of the headphones were hanging, but at least due to the 00:01:17.360 --> 00:01:24.320 lightweight design of the AG1s, it didn't cause me any discomfort even 00:01:21.759 --> 00:01:29.040 after a couple hours of continuous use. The other issue for me with these is 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:34.159 that they just plain don't stay on for me. The left side of the headset is 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:39.439 slightly heavier than the right side due to the cable and the microphone. So, I 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:43.439 found that that side sags more than the other side. And because the materials on 00:01:41.759 --> 00:01:48.159 the top pads and the ear cups, while soft and cushy and nice, are also a 00:01:45.759 --> 00:01:53.680 little bit slippery, they don't really do anything to help them stay on. There 00:01:50.479 --> 00:01:55.759 is an easy fix, however, a band-aid 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:59.600 solution, if you will. Just put an elastic band between the wings like so. 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:05.280 You'll have to experiment with the right size elastic. And I found that once I 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:09.520 found the perfect elastic, it addressed all the issues that I had with them and 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:13.760 they were both comfortable and stayed on just fine. One way Audio Technica could 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:17.599 fix this for me would be to include some tasteful black or gold elastics that 00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:21.200 come with the headphones and I can try whichever one fits perfectly for me so I 00:02:19.440 --> 00:02:25.599 don't need to use some janky solution. But on a future product, I'd just much 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:29.440 rather have a full headband for comfort and convenience. I mean, lots of gamers 00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:34.319 that I know hang their headsets around their necks or pull one ear off to hear 00:02:32.239 --> 00:02:39.200 the things around them. And I found that around the neck puts the plastic support 00:02:36.239 --> 00:02:44.000 bars directly against your neck. Oops. And taking off one ear cup makes them 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:47.680 basically fall right off for me. Another oops. The good news is that the elastic 00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:51.680 that I needed to make them stay on my head in the first place also helps with 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:54.800 these issues. While I'm picking on the ergonomics of the product, though, I 00:02:52.959 --> 00:02:59.360 wish that the mic had a wider range of motion. It's 100° as it is. Um, so that 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:03.760 it's not always kind of hanging in my peripheral vision when I'm not using it. 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:07.360 Um, I mean, this last complaint in particular looks like it could be very 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:10.640 easily addressed simply by removing a little plastic stopper here so that it 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:14.879 folds up a little bit higher. It comes with a 1 m cable pre-attached that 00:03:12.720 --> 00:03:20.159 terminates in a four- pole connector for compatibility with mobile devices or the 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:23.840 included USB sound card. and it is not detachable, but it is very robust 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:27.840 feeling. So, I doubt it will ever need to be replaced. And I'd rather have a 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:32.239 solid pre-attached cable than a proprietary or fragile removable one. If 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:37.120 I had any complaints about the cable, it would be that perhaps it's a little bit 00:03:34.239 --> 00:03:42.640 too stiff. And another 8 to 12 inches of length would help me uh get it not only 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:46.239 to the front audio connector, but also kind of, you know, routed a little bit 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:51.120 further down so it's not anywhere near my arms, especially if my tower is next 00:03:48.720 --> 00:03:55.440 to me. Audio Technica does include a 2meter extension that splits into two 00:03:53.840 --> 00:04:00.640 three poles to work with your analog sound card and to help you reach around to the back of your computer, but it 00:03:58.799 --> 00:04:04.959 doesn't address folks who might want to use the surprisingly decent USB sound 00:04:03.200 --> 00:04:08.560 card that can easily drive these headphones past comfortable audio levels 00:04:06.720 --> 00:04:11.599 without distortion, but have it in the back of their system where they can't 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:16.560 see it because these don't go in here. So, a four-pole extension with a small 00:04:14.239 --> 00:04:20.959 pigtail adapter would have been a more versatile solution, allowing front 00:04:18.400 --> 00:04:24.880 analog, rear analog, front USB, and rear USB operation, all without a trip to the 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:29.120 store for an extra adapter. Back to the mic for a moment. It is a very premium 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:32.560 feeling. The flexible boom is outstanding and it can be easily 00:04:30.880 --> 00:04:36.960 positioned exactly where you need it. This is a big complaint I have about a 00:04:34.320 --> 00:04:40.560 lot of microphones and not this one. It also features a nearby mute button 00:04:38.479 --> 00:04:44.000 that's nice and easy to reach, but is unfortunately not automatically 00:04:42.479 --> 00:04:47.759 triggered when you move the microphone up out of the way like some other 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:51.040 headsets in this price range. Now, let's move on to listening tests. All 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:56.479 listening tests were done on a stack in a Titanfall game stream or with 00:04:53.919 --> 00:05:01.759 my usual mix of top 40 music. And I'll say this, the AG1s have a much more 00:04:59.919 --> 00:05:07.280 balanced frequency response than you'll typically find on a gaming headset. nice 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:09.840 accurate and clear highs, rich mids, and 00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:16.320 punchy, strong, but not overpowering lows. I haven't tried the open back at 00:05:12.880 --> 00:05:18.000 ADG ones, but man, I don't think I care. 00:05:16.320 --> 00:05:22.400 Even though I got the closed version, it's amazing how natural they sound. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:26.800 They do such a great job of not making me feel like I'm in a tiny little cave 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:30.720 with a plastic speaker mounting apparatus clamped to my head. I mean, 00:05:28.960 --> 00:05:33.759 sure, that's what's actually going on here, but that doesn't mean I want to 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:37.680 confront that reality. I'm in my zone, right? And even more impressively, 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:41.919 because of their DADS or double air damping system, they don't leak sound. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:46.000 That translates into better positional audio because your left ear can't 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:49.919 accidentally hear right channel sound and more immersive gaming since you'll 00:05:47.919 --> 00:05:53.199 never be bothered by annoying spouses, children, pets, and I mean, hell, the 00:05:51.919 --> 00:05:58.080 apocalypse could probably happen with these on, and I wouldn't notice that either. The other real world benefit of 00:05:56.400 --> 00:06:00.880 their isolation is that you also won't bother those other folks with whatever 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:05.039 you're listening to, whether it's games or music. Now, because of their price, 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:11.280 they end up in sideby-side listening tests against some tough competition, 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:13.800 though. By comparison, the AKG K72s are 00:06:11.280 --> 00:06:18.639 much harder to drive, having much higher impedance and similar bass response, but 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:22.960 lack some oomph in the mid-range and have more sparkle at the high end. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:27.840 Something that some people prefer, but past a certain point, I find fatiguing 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:32.560 to listen to. I do prefer AKG's suspension headband implementation, but 00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:36.639 I really do not prefer the hard foam that they use on the ear cups compared 00:06:34.080 --> 00:06:41.199 to this nice soft stuff. I also dug my PC 350s, which are still quite similar 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:44.800 to the current model high-end closedback from Sennheiser, out of a bin where I 00:06:43.039 --> 00:06:49.280 found them at Luke's place. He's so fired. Uh mids were strong on these, 00:06:47.280 --> 00:06:53.199 similar to the ATS, but the highs were comparably veiled, something that may be 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:58.080 an issue when pinpointing in-game sounds. and their base, while strong and 00:06:55.440 --> 00:07:02.080 punchy, only really delivers if I press them against my head to seal them 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:06.880 because I think Sennheiser was designing these for elves. These are also really 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:10.880 hard to drive for a gaming headphone. My last competitor was the DT770s from 00:07:09.039 --> 00:07:15.280 Bernamic, and it's obvious why these have such a good reputation. I've got 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:19.440 the 80 ohm impedance version, and apart from being much more difficult to drive 00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:23.680 and sounding a little bit bassier, they were, I'd say, equally pleasing to 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:26.960 listen to. Noise isolation is not as strong though, and this is likely partly 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:31.759 due to the cloth ear cups. And obviously, they have no included mic or 00:07:29.520 --> 00:07:36.479 included USB sound card, but then again, they are less expensive overall. Now, 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:39.680 speaking of the included mic, let's get into microphone quality. This headset 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:42.960 will be the first entry into our new standardized mic testing system. I'm 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:46.560 going to record three test phrases on an ASUS Thunderx external sound card. one 00:07:45.280 --> 00:07:50.240 like I'm having a conversation with someone on Skype, one like I'm excited 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:54.319 in the middle of a game, and one like I'm speaking quietly um so as not to 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:59.280 wake the baby. I'm going to link to these sound clips in the video description. For your convenience, 00:07:57.120 --> 00:08:04.560 though, here is a clip from this headset that should basically make you want to 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:07.120 go buy it right now. Holy actual balls. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:10.720 The mic on the AG1 is unreal. If you didn't tell me this mic was integrated 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:15.440 on a gaming headset, I would believe it was a much more expensive standalone 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:18.879 solution. Bravo Audio Technica. I guess that's what some audio engineering 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:24.319 expertise brings to the gaming headset scene. So, the conclusion for this 00:08:20.960 --> 00:08:26.240 product is this great first attempt. 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:30.080 Audio Technica took a new market, one that they admittedly haven't addressed 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:35.279 before and designed a product for it that is really solid. It sounds great in 00:08:33.039 --> 00:08:39.599 games. I mean, good headphones sound good in games and will satisfy all but 00:08:37.760 --> 00:08:42.159 the most discerning audio files when it comes to music enjoyment as well. And I 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:47.760 mean, when I say discerning, I don't mean in terms of quality. They sound great. It's just that some people prefer 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:52.000 a slightly different sound signature for music enjoyment versus gaming. That's 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:56.160 all. They've got a fantastic microphone on here. And apart from a few ergonomic 00:08:54.560 --> 00:09:00.480 complaints, which I covered pretty thoroughly in the video, this is pretty 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:04.399 much as good as I could expect a gaming headset to be. The drawback, I mean, 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:08.640 well, it's linked in the video description if you want to buy one, but 00:09:06.800 --> 00:09:13.440 prepare yourself because the price tag reflects the premium quality of the 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:16.000 product, is price. They are very 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:20.399 expensive, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Speaking of getting what 00:09:17.920 --> 00:09:24.880 you pay for, audible.com, I swear, with over 150,000 audio books available to 00:09:22.880 --> 00:09:30.000 download at a moment's notice and listen to on your phone or in your car or on 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:34.720 your headphones. See how these things went together so nicely? Oh, sorry, I 00:09:32.640 --> 00:09:39.279 got distracted there. The point is that whenever you wherever you happen to be, 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:43.040 these guys seem to have everything. One of the hot items on the bestseller list 00:09:40.880 --> 00:09:46.959 right now is an original story called Doctor Who Dead Air that is not only 00:09:44.800 --> 00:09:51.440 about the 10th Doctor, but also happens to be voiced by David Tennant. So, if 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:55.600 like me, you didn't get enough of him in his relatively long but still too short 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:59.519 run as the doctor, you can easily get your fix by signing up for a free trial 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:03.040 of Audible's monthly audiobook service. The first one is free, and if you decide 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:07.279 you like it, you'll get an audio book of your choice every month to enjoy. Just 00:10:05.040 --> 00:10:11.519 head over to audible.com/Linus to learn more. Guys, like and share this video if 00:10:09.920 --> 00:10:14.800 you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it, and leave a comment on the Linus 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:19.360 Tech Tips forum linked in the video description if you want to discuss this product or you have constructive 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:22.160 criticism for me and my team. Also linked in the video description is our 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:25.279 support link with options to buy t-shirts like this one. Give us a 00:10:23.760 --> 00:10:28.800 monthly contribution to help us keep making these videos for you or give us a 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:32.160 kickback whenever you buy random junk on Amazon. Check it out if you enjoy our 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:37.070 videos. It helps us out a whole bunch. And as always, thank you for watching 00:10:33.760 --> 00:10:47.509 and don't forget to subscribe.